Botanical/commercial classification: Lonicera nitida/Lonicera Plant.
Varietal denomination: cv. xe2x80x98Brilonixe2x80x99.
The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Lonicera nitida, and hereafter is referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Brilonixe2x80x99. Plants of this species sometimes are called Box Honeysuckle.
A single plant possessing the characteristics of the new cultivar was discovered at Saint Barthxc3xa9lxc3xa9my d""Anjou, Maine et Loire, France while growing among a block of plants of the xe2x80x98Maigrxc3xcnxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States). The new cultivar of the present invention is believed to be a spontaneous mutation of the xe2x80x98Maigrxc3xcnxe2x80x99 cultivar of unknown causation. I was attracted to the new cultivar primarily because of its distinctive foliage coloration that differed from that of the parental cultivar. Had the plant of this new cultivar not been discovered and preserved it would have been lost to mankind.
It was found that the new Lonicera nitida plant displays the following combination of characteristics:
(a) forms attractive new foliage that bears yellow-green coloration unlike that of the xe2x80x98Maigrxc3xcnxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States),
(b) possesses a spreading growth habit,
(c) grows well in a semi-shaded environment, and
(d) provides attractive ornamentation.
The new cultivar of the present invention can be readily distinguished from plants of the xe2x80x98Maigrxc3xcnxe2x80x99 cultivar which forms new foliage that is consistently more green in coloration. Accordingly, the new foliage of the xe2x80x98Brilonixe2x80x99 cultivar is significantly more yellow and is often variegated yellow-green and green in coloration. Additionally, the xe2x80x98Baggeen""s Goldxe2x80x99 cultivar (non-patented in the United States) while forming yellow foliage displays a significantly different growth habit. More specifically, the growth habit of the xe2x80x98Baggeen""s Goldxe2x80x99 cultivar is upright and that of the new cultivar is spreading.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by the use of cuttings as performed at Saint Barthxc3xa9lxc3xa9my d""Anjou, Maine et Loire, France, has demonstrated that the characteristics of the new cultivar are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual propagation.
The new cultivar well meets the needs of the horticultural industry and can be used to provide attractive ornamentation when grown in pots or in the landscape. Unlike some Lonicera plants, the new cultivar grows well in a semi-shaded environment.